Apparently I sound like Yo Gabba Gabba

Excuse me, Mrs. Mason, but I think she's from not Australia.
~One of my students



Yesterday I had my first day of student teaching. I am working at St. Paul Primary School, which is an entirely different experience for me. Though I went to Catholic school for thirteen years of my life, I have never actually taught in one. It has given me a lot to think about. At Michigan State, we are taught that lessons have to be completely inclusive. When teaching 4-5 year olds about families, one must include all different types, whether it is a single parent household, a family with divorced parents, or even a family with parents of the same sex. I have to teach a lesson about family coming up, and I have to have a long discussion with my mentor teacher about how to handle it. I'm not worried though it will be a challenge! A challenge I am more than willing to tackle.

Yesterday could have gone better, but it definitely could have gone worse. It started out amazingly. My dad took his lap top over to my cousin's house, and I was able to talk to her and her children. My cousin Ryan FINALLY said words when I could hear him. Normally he freaks out that seeing me means his mom and dad are leaving, so he is too upset to talk. Apparently when I am "in the TV", as they told the kids, I am much less of a threat. My cousin Carolyn opened her birthday present that I sent home for her, and seemed to like it, so that was awesome.

The school is only a ten minute walk away, so I left after the skype conversation, and made it to the school early. My class has thirty children, and not to play with stereotypes, but the ratio of boys to girls is definitely not in our favor. Between me coming and a school trip to visit the dentist, the kids were definitely NOT on their best behavior. It was a crazy day that ended with the head teacher thanking them for sending the three teachers in the room home with a headache. I would not have gone that far, but I definitely was exhausted. I am sure it will get better though, or I at least will get used to it. Next week I am going to a Lady Gaga concert right after my placement. I am going to be dead on my feet.

Oh, and apparently I sound like Yo Gabba Gabba. That's how one of the children knew I was American. If you don't know who that is, google image search it. It's a children's show that I have succeeded in not watching, because it is so obnoxious. And it is starring an African American male. Who apparently I sound like.

Twilight References Galore

Insert me barfing because I just titled this post that.

I hate it when people use Twilight references to refer to my life, unless they have to do with me marrying Jasper Cullen. However, today I make an exception.

Because I pulled a Bella Swan.



I jumped off of a cliff. That cliff, in fact.

Yes. I, Kathleen Marie Scheuber, who is deathly afraid of heights (thanks for that one, Dad), went to a cliff that was at least 10 meters high, and jumped off of it into the water below.

And as soon as I was at the bottom, I climbed the cliff and did it again.

The water below was twenty meters deep, and there were no rocks where we were jumping. So all of you "adults" that read my blog, please note that this was probably safer than the high dive my mother let me dive off of when I was ten at my cousin's swim club. Despite this disclaimer, I can still hear my dad's girlfriend, Diane, screaming, "You did what??????"

The biggest danger I encountered was the jelly fish that awaited in the river below, though most of them were not of the stinging variety.

When I got to the edge the first time, I was scared to death. In fact, the people I was with all jumped in, climbed to the top, and jumped again before I got up the nerve to do it once.

There was a ten year old boy who was on the edge next to me who had not jumped yet either. He turned to me and said, "You jump, I jump." My response was "Who are you, Jack Dawson? Because I'm pretty sure you died in the end." For those of you who were either asleep during the 90s, or for some reason were living in a cave, when Rose is about to commit suicide by jumping off of the back of the Titanic, Jack stops her and says the exact line that that boy said to me. And if you can't figure out what movie I am referencing, maybe you need to go back to the cave. Anyways, it was clear that the boy had not been born in 1997, because he looked at me like I was a complete idiot.

In the end, I just had to close my eyes, count to three, and just leap off the edge.

And though I was not pulled out of the water by a werewolf, the adrenaline high I was on was amazing none the less, and I intend on going back at least once before I leave here.

Sometimes All You Have to Do is Pray

I've been insanely jealous of everyone back in America this past week. It was easy to be thankful I was here when all of the facebook status updates had to do with more and more snow that Michigan was getting. I forgot, however, that though I am missing the snow, I am missing the Spring as well.

Here, it does not rain. Every day is just as beautifully clear as the day before it. First rains do not come until late April or May. All of the facebook status updates the past few days have been rubbing in the fact that the snow is melting, and the rains are coming. It may be beautiful here, but I hate it.

I received a gift today, however. I am going to see a WAAPA performance tonight and I hardly slept last night (just ask my cousin Angie, or my dad, both of whom I talked to on the phone at 3 in the morning), so I decided to take a nap. I was awoken by someone banging on my window.

My good friend Tyler started yelling, "Kate! It's raining! It's raining!"

And so it was. In an almost unheard of event, for about twenty minutes, it poured rain in March. I went out and danced in it. The temperature has dropped to a much more bearable level, and things are looking up! According to the forecast we are going to go back to sunny days, but the temperature is going to go down to the eighties for quite some time before it will inevitably spike again.

On a completely unrelated note, two days ago was my cousin's daughter's (my pseudo niece) 4th birthday. I called to wish her a happy birthday, but unfortunately she had a fever and wasn't feeling well. So despite Angie telling her that "Aunt Kate is calling from really really far away, and you need to talk to her because she might not be able to call back," all I got were a few groans from a child who was obviously sick. I don't mind though. I'll call back another time and hope that I can catch her in a better mood.

Random Musings of a Red Head

I got up early this morning. I got up early with one purpose. I wanted McDonalds breakfast. So I got up at 8, and took a bus to the mall.

Only to find that Australia does not have folded eggs. Or bagels. Or bacon.

So I had an egg mcmuffin and grumbled about it.

I'm addicted to McDonald's breakfast. In fact, it will probably be the first meal that I have when I get home, provided that they are serving it when I get home. I could eat it at every meal. I would be very fat, but I could do it.

McDonalds regular food is actually better here than it is at home, with one drawback. Here, it is more expensive and their sizes are different. It is 7.95 for a Big Mac meal, but that only comes with a happy meal sized drink and a small fries. Definitely not worth it. Except that it is when you are missing home and want something that tastes the exact same . . .

Sometimes, you just need to chase some seagulls.

Note: The video is better with sound on. Notice Tessa collapse to the ground when someone implies that the birds might be chasing after her.

The Beach is More Awesome at Night

Stephen: Hey Kate! There's Orion!
Tyler: Is he wearing the same belt?
Stephen: Yeah. Again.
Terry: I laughed so hard when I read that.
Me: You read my blog, Terry?
Terry: No, you put that quote on your facebook.
Me: No I didn't.
Terry: Oops.
Mikael: Super creepy stalker moment.

Things are finally starting to cool down here, though the wind is also dying down so it does not seem like they are. Today it only got up to 95 degrees, but like I said, no wind. The buildings are stiflingly warm, so we all decided to go to the beach.

At 9 at night. The temperature had gone down to about 70 degrees, but we did not care. Well, some of us cared. Tessa, Courtney, Mikael, Steve and Simon stayed on the beach, huddled in sweatshirts and towels.






Terry, Stephen, Tyler and I jumped right in. Actually, the water was quite warm, compared to the chilled air outside, since the wind definitely had picked up. The waves were MASSIVE, and the undertow was really strong. We were careful though, and did not go too deep.

I tried to upload a video of some of us chasing seagulls, but it was taking too long. I'll try again tomorrow!

Books Galore!

I have rediscovered one of my loves this New Year. It started while I was still at home. I have been reading more than I have in a long time. I have finished six books since 2010 began.

I am hoping I can continue to read as the semester progresses. This week I have plans to go to a massive park in the city just to sit under a tree and read my book.

Right now I am reading Deja Dead, by Kathy Reichs. It is quite an interesting read. For those of you who watch television, it is the series that the show Bones was based off of.

Also, The Princess Bride, by William Goldman, now ranks as one of my favorite books of all time. Read it if you have a chance, especially if you love the movie.

My main issue with this is that books are incredibly expensive out here. I almost want to buy a Kindle and have it shipped here just so that I can buy books without paying the astronomical prices. It costs 22 dollars just to buy a young adult paperback.

I still have four and a half books, however, that I have not finished. I just hope that they are good!